1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and method for testing electronic circuits and, more specifically, to an apparatus and method for testing application specific integrated circuits.
2. Description Of Related Art
An application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) requires the same number of test vectors to verify correct operation as an entire circuit board comprised of smaller scale integrated circuits. However, unlike a circuit board, no probing is possible within an ASIC. This becomes a problem because it is a great advantage to a circuit board designer to verify the operation of an ASIC prior to its insertion in a board.
Integrated circuits are typically subjected to functional testing in which input signals are provided to all of the input terminals of the integrated circuit. In such functional testing, the output signals on the output terminals are observed in order to verify the proper functioning of the integrated circuit. Such functional testing is generally done utilizing complicated and complex test devices which are very expensive. Some of the test devices even require specific environmental controls be placed on the ASIC.
At present, testers are available specifically for testing ASICs. Such testers require special adapters and are oftentimes package specific. Moreover, such testers rely on complex circuitry and are thus expensive. Many small companies cannot afford such expensive testers. In many cases, these testers offer extra tests which are not required for the specific ASIC which is being tested. Consequently, there is a need for a low cost ASCI tester which is affordable to small companies.